Where Have I Been?

It's been quiet on here of late hasn't it?

Well that's because I've just returned from a week sunning it on the Isle of Wight with my beloved. We stayed at Whitecliff Bay which is near Bembridge, it was bliss! Here's a shot of the beach which was exactly a four minute walk from our chalet...

Whitecliff Bay

What a fantastic island, all the beaches were gorgeous! I love a nice sandy beach... or two! : )

Ryde Beach - that's Portsmouth in the background

Sandown Beach

The ferry over was good fun too, we sailed from Portsmouth. Two adult Med Gulls and a few Sandwich and one Common Tern were the highlights.

I wasn't really bothered about doing any birding, mainly because I knew there wouldn't be much to see, but I was keen to look at some insects... especially butterflies! Especially one particular butterfly, the Glanville Fritillary, the Isle of Wight is the only place in the UK where this species occurs.

I had planned to head down to Ventor to see some, but a cliff-top wander within the holiday park was enough. I stumbled upon some suitable looking habitat one evening, and after a bit of poking around here found up to ten of these beautiful little butterflies. I returned the next morning to get some pictures, and wasn't disappointed...

Aren't they superb little things? And they really are little!

Also here saw a couple of Grizzled Skippers, Wall, Small Copper plus the more usual species. Here is where I saw all these beauties...

Glanville Fritillary heaven!

Now this post wouldn't be complete without a few pics from our outing to The Isle of Wight Zoo. It was brilliant.

Although at times I did feel sorry for some of the animals living in their pens, I just remembered where they had come from. Most of the big cats here have come from circus groups, and one Tiger was found in a small flat in America and was handed in after it bit its owner! Enjoy...

A fine selection of beautiful big cats

Glad to see I've not missed any patch goodies whilst I've been gone. It's nice to be home, let's hope some patch ticks fall my way in the near future...